Howard Lederer grew up in a family of 5 where he enjoyed betting on different card games at a young age. He discovered himself becoming very aggressive in the above-mentioned card games while playing his dad. After graduating from Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little while and headed to New York City to play some big-time chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were rough as he would play many hours and do not win most times. He made some extra money by becoming an runner for the poker enthusiasts. He theorized he possibly could better his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He brought about an attempt to acquire more sleep and concentrate even more on the game.
The actual improvement in his skills happened when he started wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the the most favorable players would regularly compete against each other. Howard had access into a few of the greatest players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would sharpen his strategic thinking techniques. He applied these strategy ideas to the game of No-Limit hold’em.
Howard Lederer also helped his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. She was an excellent student of the game as she would always be asking questions about the right way to make the correct choice. He told Annie to head out to Vegas and play in the WSOP competition. Annie is one of the strongest women players the poker world has ever seen. Howard relocated to Las Vegas in Nineteen Ninety Three and participated in cash games for the following decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard decided to play more tournaments.